The Darkness That Fills Us
by lvfalcons
Summary: Another story that takes place between the last chapter and epilogue of Deathly Hallows. It has spoilers to the book.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I decided to try my hand at writing something that was kind of dark because I'm one of the least likely people to do it. I spent all of this week writing this, and I realize it's short, but football started this week and I've spent every day from 4-9 at practice. I should be able to write a longer, and better 2nd chapter over the weekend.

Disclaimor: I don't own anything except the idea.

The Darkness That Fills Us

Chapter 1

It had been three weeks since the defeat of Voldemort at Hogwarts. Harry Potter had spent almost all of his time trying to escape the media and hordes of unknown people who swarmed him in the streets. He didn't know how, but every time he left the safety of the Burrow crowds surrounded him. All of this unwanted attention was causing him to become a recluse, spending hours upon end sitting alone in his and Ron's shared room staring out of the window.

At night while laying in bed if he drifted into sleep, the faces of the dead filled his dreams and they all asked him why he couldn't save them. They shrieked and screamed as they were murdered over and over by Voldemort's forces. He would always awake in a cold sweat and he would refuse to go back to sleep, eventually getting to the point where he wouldn't sleep at all. The faces appeared to him in his mind's eye every time he closed his eyes.

He tried his best to hide his problems from everyone knowing that they had all suffered losses also, but they all knew something was wrong. Harry had stopped eating, he looked pale, his eyes hallow. He thought that by acting as if nothing was wrong and by secluding himself he would protect those around him from being affected by his deep depression.

But unknown to Harry, the one he was hurting the most was the one he had always tried so hard to protect. Ginny had become increasingly more upset as Harry completely ignored her. He didn't want to burden her with his problems, not realizing how much she was affected by his behavior.

The Weasleys didn't know how to help Harry, so they tried to act as if he were completely the same. The lack of sleep had made Harry very quick tempered, and he would snap at everyone for the slightest thing. Even poor Ginny wasn't able to escape his anger.

Ginny had been walking up the stairs to her room with a glass of water, when she tripped. The water spilled over the stairs and splashed onto Harry's feet.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Harry exploded. "Can't you even walk?"

Ginny looked at him with her big brown eyes in shock, as tears started falling from her lashes.

Harry immediately felt a wave of guilt. "Ginny, I'm sorry, I-" He didn't get to finish his apology because she had run into her room and slammed the door.

That night Harry silently packed his things into a rucksack. He silently left Ron's room and cast a spell to silence the creaking stairs. He walked down the stairs and as he passed Ginny's room he stopped and looked at it. He opened the door without a sound and looked at the beautiful creature sleeping peacefully. He placed a letter on the pillow next to her. He walked out of her room and out of the Burrow. When Ginny awoke the next morning the first thing she saw was the note. She picked it up and read it:

'I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you. I never meant to hurt you. That's why I have to leave; I've caused enough pain and sorrow. I'm going to try to sort this whole thing out, but until I do I can't be near the people I care about. I'll come back someday, and I hope you'll be able to forgive me. Harry.'

Tears streamed down Ginny's cheeks as she ran down to the kitchen where her mother and father were sitting talking quietly. She quickly showed them the letter. They stared at it in disbelief.

"How could he do this?" Ginny cried into her mother's shoulder.

"I'm sure he will come back as soon as he's ready," Mrs. Weasley replied in a pained voice. Harry had been like a son to her and she had already lost Fred.

"What's going on?" Ron asked from the doorway, Hermione standing next to him.

"Harry left," Mr. Weasley replied.

Ron and Hermione looked at him in shock. "Why would Harry leave?" Ron and Hermione asked in perfect unison.

Mr. Weasley handed the letter to them and waited for them to read it. They reread it several times. "I do believe Harry feels responsible for everything that happened," Mr. Weasley said.

"But he couldn't have stopped any of it," Ron protested.

"Ron, this is Harry we are talking about," Hermione said.

Ginny sat listening to their conversation, quietly crying. She couldn't believe that he was gone. She had waited so long for the day when they could be together and now that they could, he had left her. She suddenly felt anger flood through her. How could he leave? Especially now when she needed him so badly. She stood up suddenly.

"Who cares if he felt responsible," Ginny shouted. "He shouldn't have left when we all need him so much. He's just being the stupid git he has always been." With that she stormed out of the room and they heard her bedroom door slam shut.

"Harry better be careful when he comes back," Ron joked half-heartedly trying to lighten the mood. No one laughed. No one even smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm _really_ sorry for taking so long to post the second chapter, I'll try not to go that long without posting another one again, but no promises, sorry. Anyway, from now on I'll try to post a new chapter every Saturday or Sunday. I'm hoping the rest of the chapters will be longer than these first two. Enjoy.

_Crack_!

The sound reverberated down the dark, deserted street. A shadowed figure approached the seemingly empty space between houses 11 and 13. He whispered something that was barely audible. A house appeared before him. He walked up the front porch and sat on the stairs putting his head in his hands.

He had not wanted to leave the Burrow, but he thought it would have been best for everyone else, even if it killed him. He knew that he had hurt the Weasleys and he felt guilty for it. He almost wished he had died when Voldemort cursed him. He thought it would have been easier for everyone.

"I can't keep hurting the ones I care about," he said to himself, his voice thick with sadness.

A single tear fell from his eye and he quickly wiped it off. He had not shown weakness before, he wouldn't now. He stood suddenly and walked into the house. He looked out into the street as he shut the door and saw a muggle family walking past the invisible house. He wished he could have that.

He shut the door and walked down to the kitchen. Kreacher greeted him excitedly.

"Hello master, what can I do for you?" the house elf asked quickly.

"A cup of tea would be nice," Harry replied. He had forgotten about the house elf, he really just wanted to be alone, but he didn't feel right to send him away.

Kreacher quickly produced a small cup of tea and gave it to Harry. Harry sat and stared into the blank wall across from him as he sipped his tea.

"Is something the matter, master?" Kreacher questioned.

Harry nodded grimly and continued to stare at the wall. He didn't want to spill his heart out to a house elf when he wouldn't to his friends.

"Is there something Kreacher can do to help?" Kreacher asked.

"No, this is something I have to handle by myself," Harry replied.

"Oh, yes master," Kreacher said looking dejected.

"I'm going to bed," Harry stated lamely as he got up.

He walked up the stairs and into the room where he had stayed in when he was last here. He laid on the musty covers and stared at the ceiling. He didn't know how he could get to a point where he could forgive himself for all that happened. All those deaths still haunted him. He knew that he had to do something that was worthy of such a sacrifice.

He laid there for a long while before he got up and started pacing the room. No matter how hard he thought about it, he didn't know how he could appease his guilt. It was almost as if he wasn't supposed to. He thought of every way to help those who had made the greatest sacrifices.

And then suddenly, it hit him. He knew what he could do. It wouldn't replace the grief of the lost, but he figured it could help. He looked at his watch and realized it was too late to do anything now so he laid on the bed, and for the first time since Hogwarts Harry slept.

Ginny couldn't believe that he would leave like that. He had said that they had all the time in the world now. And he was wasting it. She was angry, but also sad.

She screamed into her tear-soaked pillow, trying to blow off some of the anger that was engulfing her. _Harry is such a prat, I can't believe he would just leave like that. He abandoned me, and the rest of the family. How can he possibly feel responsible for all that's happened? If it weren't for him Voldemort would still be alive._

She had been trying to figure out why he had left since this morning. She hadn't left her room or eaten. Whenever someone knocked on her door, she ignored them. Finally, Ginny heard someone outside her door say something and the door sprang open.

George walked into the room, shut the door and sat down next to Ginny. He noticed how red her eyes were from crying. He pulled her into a hug.

"Harry's a stupid git," he whispered to her. "I know if I had a girl like you waiting, I wouldn't be out acting stupid."

Ginny looked up into her brother's face, this had been the first time they had really talked since Fred had died.

"I hate him for this, you know," Ginny replied, her voice thick.

"No, you don't hate him; you just hate what he did," George said soothingly. "When he comes back, I'm sure you'll throw yourself in his arms."

"I hope he doesn't come back, for his sake, because I'll hex him to hell," Ginny replied angrily.

George shook his head. "You can believe that if you want, but I'll bet you anything that you're going to snog him before you hex him."

George smiled, as Ginny looked at him. "I'll take that bet," she said quietly.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Harry slowly opened his eyes and felt for his glasses on the nightstand next to his bed. He slid them on his face and groaned as he sat up. He wanted nothing more than to lay back down and fall asleep, but looking at his watch he realized that it was later than he had wanted to wake up.

_It's eight o'clock already?_ He thought in disbelief. He had wanted to wake up at six so he could get a head start on his plan. He knew that it would take him a while to complete it. As he got dressed his stomach roared loudly. It was the first time he had been hungry in weeks. He walked down the stairs lazily and went into the kitchen.

"Kreacher?" Harry asked into the empty room. A loud pop sounded and the small elf appeared in front of him. "Could you make me some toast and bring me some jam, please?"

"Yes sir," Kreacher answered. A few moments later Harry had a tall pile of toast, a small jar of strawberry jam, and a butter dish sitting in front of him, along with a tall glass of milk.

"Thank you," Harry said as he buttered the toast and than layered it with jam. He ate six pieces ravenously and forced down a seventh. It felt amazing to have food in his stomach again. He drained the entire glass of milk in one long gulp.

He stood up and stretched his arms above his head and yawned. He was excited about his idea and he wanted to get started as soon as possible, so he quickly walked out of the house and checked to make sure no one was watching as he disapparated.

Harry appeared in front of the Ministry of Magic with a crack. He knew that his appearance was going to cause a stir but he still did not want the attention. He saw people start pointing at him and whispering before he even took a step. People started walking towards him and he knew he was about to be engulfed in people, so he quickly pulled his invisibility cloak around him. The people stopped and looked curiously at the spot where Harry had once been.

Harry smiled at the confusion as he snuck into the Ministry building. He looked at a directory that hung on the wall and searched for what he was looking for. _Department of Records...third floor._

He quickly walked over to the elevators and pressed the button for the third floor. Harry quickly flattened himself against the back wall when a familiar man entered the elevator behind him.

"Elevators don't normally open by themselves, Harry," Mr. Weasley said as the elevator doors slid shut. He looked around trying to detect where Harry was.

_Damn._ Harry thought. He pulled the cloak off of him.

"Harry, you know you hurt my family a lot when you left?" Mr. Weasley asked him solemnly.

Harry looked down at his shoes. Mr. Weasley reached over to a button on the elevator and Harry felt it jerk to a stop. He grimaced knowing he was going to have to talk.

"I thought it was hurting all of you more by me being there than if I wasn't," Harry responded still staring at his shoes.

"Harry, you have to realize that it's easier to handle losses if you have people who love you surrounding you," Mr. Weasley explained. "I realize you feel responsible for all of the deaths, but that isn't your responsibility. Your responsibility is to think of all those you saved by destroying Voldemort. Think of the people that won't die because of your actions instead of the people who were lost."

Harry glanced up at Mr. Weasley. He knew the man was right, but he still felt he had to follow through with his plan. Harry opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't get any sound to come out.

"Ginny isn't very happy about your little disappearing act," Mr. Weasley said guessing what Harry had been about to say. "You may want to be careful if you decide to come back to the Burrow any time soon."

Harry allowed himself a small smile as he thought of how Ginny would react when he went back. "She'll probably hex me pretty good," Harry said.

"George is taking bets on it, actually," Mr. Weasley replied. "He seems to be the only one of the kids to think she won't hex you at all."

Harry was shocked that George would be up to doing something like that.

"May I ask why you're here, Harry?" Mr. Weasley changed the subject.

"I thought of a way to help those who had lost loved ones feel appeased," Harry answered. "And actually Mr. Weasley I would really like to get started on it as soon as possible."

"I can understand that," Mr. Weasley stated. "But if you ever need to talk, you know where my office is."

Mr. Weasley reached over to the panel and pushed another button. "You may want to put your cloak back on."

Harry quickly threw the cloak around his shoulders just in time to disappear before the doors opened on the third floor. He left the elevator and Mr. Weasley and continued down the hall until he saw a door marked "Library." He continued into the room and found himself staring at more books and scrolls than he had ever seen before in his life.

He saw a little old man leaning on the counter next to the entrance reading a book. Harry silently walked over to him and saw that the name on his identification was Reginald Hoyle. His title was Head Librarian. Harry removed his cloak and when the man didn't move or even look up from the book he was reading, he cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, sir?" Harry was uncertain that his plan was going to work now that he realized he would need another person's help.

"Yes?" the librarian sighed loudly, finally looking at Harry. "Oh, Harry Potter, and what do I owe the pleasure of having the boy who lived in my humble library?"

"I have a…project that I have to do, but I need it to be kept secret until it's ready," Harry answered. "Could you please help me find some information?"

"Information is one thing you will never lack of in this room, but may I ask what kind of information?"

"I need a list of all of the known people that were ever killed by Voldemort and the Death Eaters," Harry replied as if it were a simple request.

"That will take some time and it will be a very, very long list," Mr. Hoyle said.

"I've got as long as it will take," Harry responded.

A/N: It still isn't as long as I would have liked but I felt that the sooner I posted it the better. I'm working on the fourth chapter so I'm hoping to get it up tomorrow, although it may take until Tuesday. Oh, and Hoyle is my own creation (yes, there is a deck of cards sitting next to my computer).


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I want to apologize for the wait. I'll try to get the next chapter up quicker. Enjoy.

Chapter 4

Ginny was furious. She sat at the kitchen table reading a small black book. It listed all of her brother's names and had amounts of money next to them. She had been trying to figure out what the book meant when she glanced at the headings at the top of the list. It read "hex" and "doesn't hex." Everyone except George was listed under "hex."

_I'm going to bloody kill him! I can't believe he would butt into my life like that._ She thought angrily.

George walked into the room just as she finished her thought. She glared at him. He realized what she was looking at and gave her a mischievous grin before he sprinted out the door.

"GEORGE!" Ginny screamed. She jumped out of her chair, knocking it over, and took off after him.

As she entered the living room she saw his foot going up the stairs. She ran to the stairs and leapt up them two at a time. She got to the first floor landing when she felt herself wrapped tightly in a rope. She fell to the floor with a thud and saw George coming back down the stairs.

"Sorry about that Gin, but you cast a mean hex," George said happily. "And I've got to look out for number one."

She struggled furiously to get out of the bonds, but the more she struggled the tighter they got, so she gave up with a sigh of frustration. George picked her up carefully and threw her over his shoulder. He carried her to her room and tossed her gently on her bed.

"Look Gin-"

"I don't want to hear it," Ginny stated bitterly. "There is no way that it's any of your business what I do to Harry when he comes back. And I can't believe you would bet on something like that. Especially after…all that's happened."

"You know as well as I do that Fred would have thought of this sooner than I did," George said with a smile. "And besides, did you know that every single one of your lovable brothers think they know exactly how you're going to react when Harry gets back? If you hadn't noticed they all bet quite a bit of money on you hexing him, and I could always split the money with you."

"How can you handle talking about him as if he wasn't…gone?"

"Because I know that Fred wouldn't have wanted us to mourn his death, he would have wanted us to celebrate his life. So that's what I'm doing, I've been coming up with more inventions than ever before. It's amazing; you should see this one, it…" George stopped himself from going off topic. "Anyway, I took the bets because I thought it was something that Fred would have done."

Ginny saw sadness flicker across his face. He brushed his hair back with his hands and sighed.

"Look Gin, you know what you want to do already, so just do it," George stood up and flicked his wand. The ropes around her disappeared and she sat up. He walked out of the room and left Ginny to her thoughts.

Ginny felt like crying, but she refused to let herself. She had cried enough lately. She got up off of her bed and walked downstairs into the kitchen. Her mother and father were sitting at the table.

"-he was at the ministry," her father was saying. Ginny stopped just outside of the doorway and listened. "He said that he was trying to do something to help those who lost family and friends in the war."

"Well, he could have done that from here," Mrs. Weasley stated. "I still don't understand why he left."

"You know Harry, he feels responsible for every horrible thing that has happened to anyone he has ever known. And I think he feels especially responsible for Fred, that's why he was avoiding contact with us, especially Ginny."

"He should have known that leaving was going to hurt Ginny more than anything he could have done."

"Yes, he should have."

"Do you know where he is staying?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "I can't imagine him out there all on his own."

"I assume that he is at Grimmauld Place, but I haven't checked and-"

"He's at Grimmauld Place, why didn't I think of that?" Ginny said louder than she had intended.

"Ginny?" her father asked from the kitchen. She heard him get up from his seat and start to walk towards the door.

Ginny quickly and quietly slipped up the staircase to her bedroom. She slid into her room and shut the door behind her as her father rounded the corner. She heard him climb the stairs and stop at her door. He knocked lightly before opening the door.

"How could you not tell me you saw him?" She questioned as he walked through the door, she sounded as if he had betrayed her. "And how could you not tell me where he was? Don't you think I have a right to know?"

"I figured if Harry wanted you to know where he was he would have told you," her father replied softly. "And I'm not sure I know where Harry is at the moment."

"You still should have told me," her voice was filled with hurt. She sat on her bed and pulled her knees into her chest. "I just want to see him so badly."

Arthur looked at his daughter. Her eyes were brimming with tears and he felt sorry for her. He sat next to her and pulled her into a hug. "You could always give him a surprise visit."

She looked up at her father in surprise. "You mean you would let me go?" She asked in shock.

"Well, I figured you were going to go anyway, so…" Arthur was engulfed in a hug.

"Thank you, dad!" Ginny shrieked as she jumped up. She grabbed a small bag and started throwing stuff into it.

Arthur let out a sigh and went back down to the kitchen. He sat back down in his seat next to Molly.

"She's going to Grimmauld Place," Arthur answered her questioning gaze.

"What? I don't think so, if she thinks-"

"I told her she could go," Arthur cut her off.

Molly gave him a blank stare for a moment. "What?! She's barely even of age yet, there is no way she should be alone with Harry. What if they do…something?"

"Molly, I trust Harry more than I trust Ginny, he won't allow anything to happen."

"I'm not worried about what Harry will do, it's Ginny, she'll do whatever she can to get what she wants, and you know that." Molly replied.

"I trust Harry enough to risk it," Arthur stated. "They need to see each other."

Molly nodded in silent agreement. Ginny walked in with the small bag over her shoulder and a cloak wrapped around her. She quickly kissed them both and bolted for the door.

They both heard a loud crack and knew that Harry was in for a big surprise.

As soon as Ginny left the house she was glad that she had put the cloak on. The night air was cold. She arrived at Grimmauld Place and ran straight to the door of number 12, silently saying the words making the house appear.

She walked inside and thought that it was too dark to have anyone there, so she decided she would wait as long as she had to for Harry to show up. She climbed the stairs until she found the room Harry had obviously been occupying. She sat down in a chair in the corner and soon felt herself drifting off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Here's the fifth chapter, I meant for it to be longer than it is, but I'm trying to update this thing faster than I have been, enjoy.

Chapter 5

Harry sat at a table in the back of the library. The table was littered with scrolls. Some had dates of birth and others had dates of death. Harry felt a new pang of guilt at each name he read off of each scroll.

He wrote down each name and the date they were born and the date they died on a piece of parchment. He felt his hand throb with every letter he wrote. His handwriting had become a scribble that he had to look over numerous times to read. As he finished writing down yet another name on the completely filled parchment he let out an exhausted sigh of relief.

He wasn't done, not even close, but he had finished his goal for that day and he felt satisfaction in the work he had done. He grabbed the stack of parchments on the table and picked up a few of the scrolls. He tucked them into a bag and left the rest sitting at the table. As he walked towards the front of the library he found Mr. Hoyle in one of the aisles putting scrolls and books into their proper places.

"Mr. Hoyle?" Harry asked, stifling a yawn. "Is it alright with you if I leave some scrolls out on that table? I'll be back tomorrow morning and I will need to use them again."

"Of course, Mr. Potter. It isn't as if anyone comes down here very often anyway. I'll make sure that no one bothers them."

"Thank you, sir, I'll see you tomorrow," Harry was relieved. It had taken him almost four hours to find all of the scrolls and parchments he had required, and he did not want to have to put them back in their place and than find them again.

He tiredly trudged out of the library and into the hallway. He pushed the button for the elevator and he almost forgot to put his invisibility cloak back on. It did not take him long before he had reached the point where he could disapparate. He arrived back at Grimmauld Place and walked straight into the house.

As he entered he thought that he smelled something, almost like the faint sent of flowers, but he blamed it on the long day he had had. He continued into the house and dropped his bag at the foot of the stairs before dragging himself up to his room. As he opened the door he felt himself get tackled into the wall behind him. He was so tired and shocked that he couldn't do anything to protect himself.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing Harry Potter?" Ginny yelled into his ear.

Harry let out a sigh of relief and started to laugh. He let himself slide down the wall into a sitting position and Ginny pulled away from him.

"What are you laughing at?!" Ginny glared icily at him from her standing position.

"I thought that you were a Death Eater or something," Harry replied looking up at her, but when he saw her his laughter subsided and he felt a huge wave of longing enter him. Even though she looked unkempt and as though she had been sleeping, she still looked like the most beautiful girl Harry had ever seen.

Harry suddenly reached up and pulled Ginny down to him and kissed her. Both of them were shocked at what he had done, but Harry continued to kiss her, trying to put all of his feelings into it. Ginny was too stunned to do anything at first and than she caught herself kissing him back and she tore away. She was almost tempted to slap him.

"You think that you can just abandon me and I'll forgive you that easily?" Ginny gave him an accusing look, still sitting in his lap.

Harry just looked at her, he didn't know what to say, he had never done anything that impulsive in his entire life. Harry opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out. Ginny tried to stand up, but he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I-I'm sorry," Harry croaked out after finally finding his voice. "About everything, about yelling at you, leaving, and especially about Fred. I-"

"No," She cut him off. "Don't you dare take that away from him. He didn't die because of you, he died trying to protect what was right and what he believed in. You had nothing to do with it. Quit being so bloody self-centered."

Harry watched as pain washed over her features and tears started to fall from her eyes. He pulled her into him and let her cry onto his shoulder as he rubbed her back. He wanted to do so much more. He wanted to take all of her pain away.

Harry sat holding her for the better part of an hour, before he felt her start to fall asleep in his arms. When he was sure that she was completely asleep, he awkwardly picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. He laid her on the bed and was about to leave when she grabbed his hand.

"Don't go," she said pulling him onto the bed next to her. Harry laid down along side of her and she laid her head on his chest.

He had never been more comfortable in his entire life. He hugged her to him tightly and kissed the top of her head. He inhaled her scent and realized how much he had missed her in the last few days.

Harry felt Ginny fall asleep almost instantly, but he remained awake unable to take his eyes off of the gorgeous girl next to him. He watched as her breathing became softer and more rythmic, until he felt the exhaustion from the day set in and he fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm real sorry I just haven't felt like writing lately. But I should finish the next chapter relatively soon and it will probably be the last one. Here's chapter six. Sorry again.

Chapter 6

Harry woke to a beam of light hitting his face through a crack in the boarded up window of the room. He started to sit up before he remembered what the weight on his chest was. He laid back down and pulled Ginny's body closer to him. He looked down at her and studied her features. Ginny was probably one of the most beautiful women Harry had ever seen in his entire life and he could not believe how lucky he was to have her laying next to him.

Ginny felt Harry's eyes on her and she tried to ignore it, but it felt like he was boring holes into her. "Would you please stop staring?" she asked without opening her eyes.

Harry smiled as he replied, "Why would I want to stop staring at you?"

Ginny finally opened her eyes with a groan and looked up at him. "Because if you don't and I can't get back to sleep I'm going to hex you so bad that you won't be able to leave this bed for a week."

"I don't think you would do it," Harry said confidently. He knew he was pushing his luck, but he could not help but tease her. "I think you love me too much to do anything that would hurt me."

Harry felt himself get shoved off of the bed and he landed on the floor with a _thump!_ "After all you've put me through I think you should shut up," Ginny replied angrily and rolled over.

Harry stood up and tried to rub the pulsing sensation out of his right hip. He looked down at Ginny, who was facing the other direction, and he leaned over her. He quickly placed a kiss on her cheek and before she could react he pinned her down with his body.

"I think we should have a nice long talk," Harry said into her ear. Ginny struggled futilely to get out from under him. She opened her mouth to say something, but Harry quickly clasped his hand over it. "I think that for the safety of all involved, you know me, I think you should be quiet for a little while," Ginny glared icily at him. "and I also think that you…are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Harry said before he could stop himself.

Ginny looked at him confused. "Look Gin, I hate it that you're mad at me, and I understand that I deserve it, but I don't think that it's completely fair to treat me like I'm the devil. I mean, I realize that I shouldn't have left and I know that I hurt you when I did, but I had to do something for all the people. Okay, I'm going to let you go, _if_ you agree not to kill me. So, how about it?"

Ginny nodded her head slowly and Harry gingerly removed his hand from her mouth, but as he did he ran his thumb along her soft lips, and suddenly Ginny felt his lips crash down on hers. She was again shocked by his actions, but he was kissing her so passionately that she couldn't help but kiss him back. And the kiss soon turned into something much more lust-filled, and Harry's shirt was somehow taken off. But suddenly, Harry realized the position that they were in as he felt her move under him and he pulled away from Ginny.

She tried to restart the kiss, but Harry turned away. She looked at him with hurt-filled, questioning eyes. Harry quickly sat up and looking appalled. "Ginny, we can't do this, you're not even of age yet and I can't take advantage of you like this and…"

"Would you shut up?" Ginny snapped, "Do you honestly think I can't make decisions for myself?" She wrapped her arms around him from behind and pulled him forcefully back onto the bed and pinned him down. As he struggled to get up, she was suddenly very happy that she had had so many brothers to wrestle growing up.

"It's my decision whether or not we do this, and you know you can't refuse me," even as she said it she pulled her shirt off revealing her bra. Harry stared for a second and than quickly averted his eyes.

"Ginny would you please stop?" he almost sounded like he was in pain. His voice was husky and it dripped with lust, but he also sounded embarrassed. Ginny felt proud that she could make him feel like that.

"Stop resisting Harry," she whispered in his ear sexily. She planted a hard kiss on his lips and he groaned. He kissed her back and she started dragging her hand down his torso, until it rested on his pants and she tried to undo the button. She suddenly felt herself being flipped over, and Harry's weight crashed down on her.

"No," he said into her ear, between breaths. "I'm not going to let it happen like this Gin, not like this." He pushed himself off of her and he walked out of the room quickly. Ginny laid on the bed for a few more minutes thinking about what had just transpired. She was livid, first she couldn't believe that he could turn her down, and second she couldn't believe she had done what she had. She got up off of the bed slowly and pulled her shirt on.

Harry was in the kitchen with Kreacher making breakfast when he heard her enter the room. He continued to fry the bacon the muggle way, ignoring her. He could feel her eyes on him as she stood but a few feet away from him. She watched him for a few moments before she actually noticed the many scars he had on his back from years of struggle. She felt guilty for what she had done.

"Harry," she said it in such a way that he turned to look at her. They stood staring at each other for a moment before she threw herself into him and his arms wrapped around her. "I'm sorry," she said softly into his bare chest. He didn't reply, only squeezed her tighter and rubbed her back.

Kreacher finished magicking the breakfast and he placed two plates on the table. Harry pulled Ginny gently over to the table and sat her in the seat next to his. He devoured his breakfast hungrily while she barely picked at hers.

"I really need to get going," Harry stated, breaking the silence that had drifted over them. "I still have a lot of research I have to do."

"Can I help?" Ginny asked timidly, her normal confidence had disappeared the more she thought about her actions.

"I could use all the help I can get," Harry replied. They quickly got ready to go and Harry grabbed his bag. He threw his invisibility cloak around him and they disapparated to the Ministry of Magic.

When they arrived Harry grabbed Ginny's hand through his cloak and led her to the elevators. He had her push the buttons remembering what her father had told him. They made their way to the library without meeting anyone. Harry led her through the rows of shelves and to the table he had been at the day before.

"What exactly are you doing?" Ginny asked eyeing the pile of scrolls on the table.

"Well, um, I uh…" Harry didn't want to drag up the pain. "I'm making a list of all of the people who were known to be killed by Voldemort or the Death Eaters. And when I'm done I'm going to put up a Memorial with all of their names on it and the dates that they were born and the dates they were killed."

He saw her eyes fill with tears as he explained it and he pulled her into a tight hug. He continued to comfort her until she had calmed down. Harry than pulled out his list and sat down at the table. He started digging through the scrolls until he found the one he needed and he wrote down select information on a new piece of parchment. Ginny sat next to him and studied what he was doing and than after she knew what to do, she grabbed a scroll and started working.

After several hours Ginny's stomach growled loudly and she looked up sheepishly as Harry started to laugh. "Hungry?" he asked her. "That's why most of us tend to actually eat breakfast."

"Shut up," Ginny said quietly. "I'm going to get some lunch, do you want anything?"

"I guess I could eat, just get me whatever you can."

Ginny left the library and went down to the Ministry's lunch room. She made herself and Harry sandwiches and she grabbed two bottles of water. As she got in the elevator a voice behind her said, "That's a lot of food for my little girl."

"It's not all for me," Ginny said defensively looking at her father.

"How's Harry doing?" He asked after the elevator doors closed.

"He's definitely doing better than before," she answered simply. She felt slightly nervous about the fact that her father knew she had spent the night with Harry.

"Your mother's worried that you guys may have done…something last night," he said, sensing her nervousness.

"N-nothing happened," she said looking at the floor sheepishly.

Arthur was shocked for a moment. "Maybe I should come and have a talk with Harry."

"Dad, we didn't do anything, I swear, we almost did, but Harry stopped. He said it wasn't right," Ginny defended Harry quickly.

The elevator doors slid open and she bolted from the elevator and quickly found her way back to where Harry was sitting. She was surprised when she found him laying with his head on his arm. She quietly set the food on the table and sat down to eat. Once she had finished her sandwich she gently rubbed Harry's back. He stirred slowly and his eyes flickered open.

"How long was I out?" Harry asked with a yawn.

"I don't know, at least 20 minutes," she said as she set the plate in front of him. "I ran into my dad on the way back from the lunch room…" Ginny let her sentence trail off.

"So…" Harry asked after taking a bite of his sandwich.

"He asked if we did anything last night, and I may have let said that we almost did," Ginny whispered.

Harry looked at her for a second, and than he smiled. "I can see the headlines now: Harry Potter killed by girl's overprotective brothers and father."

"You don't take things very seriously anymore," she sighed. "And if I were you I would be more scared of my mum than my brothers and dad put together."

Harry smiled, "See it's just better to joke about it than think about the consequences."

He finished eating quickly and they went back to work, a comfortable silence hanging between them. After a few more hours, they packed up the scrolls they knew they would need and left the rest sitting on the table. As soon as they entered Grimmauld Place they knew they were in for it. Molly Weasley sat in a chair a few feet from the door.

"What are you doing here mum?" Ginny asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes, something's wrong. My only daughter isn't even of age yet and she is staying with a boy who obviously doesn't have enough self control to ignore his hormones," Molly said angrily. "And another thing, by looking around I figured out that you put yourself into the position by sleeping in the same bed. I know that Arthur and I taught you better than that Ginerva."

"Mum, don't call me that. And we didn't do anything, all we did was kiss," she hoped that her mother would take her word for it, but somehow she knew she wouldn't.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Mrs. Weasley, it's the truth, we didn't-" Harry was cut off.

"I don't want to hear a word out of you," she glared at Harry with such intensity that he looked at the floor. He could stare down Voldemort, but he couldn't look at Mrs. Weasley. "I'm very disappointed in the both of you; I knew I shouldn't have let Arthur talk me into letting you come here all by yourself. I did think I could trust you though, especially you Harry."

Harry felt ashamed, he had never had someone be disappointed in him before, the Dursleys didn't care enough about him to be disappointed.

"Mom that's not fair, you can't blame Harry for this," Ginny said after seeing the look on Harry's face. "He was the one that stopped it before it went anywhere."

"You sound like you didn't want it to stop," Mrs. Weasley said trying to spite Ginny, but when she saw Ginny avert her gaze she realized that it must be true. "Ginerva Weasley, you don't mean that, do you?"

Harry looked at Ginny surprised. She started nodding her head. "Yes, I do mean it," she said just above a whisper, but Molly heard it.

"Ginny…" Harry started to say before thinking better of it.

"We're going home right now Ginny, and I don't want to hear anything about it."

"No, I'm staying with Harry and nothing you say or do is going to change that," Ginny replied lifting her head up to look her mom in the face. Molly Weasley was stunned, the only children that had stood up to her before was Fred and George and they had had the same look as Ginny so she knew that there was no persuading her.

"Fine," Molly sighed. "But I'm sending Ron and Hermione over here. Because no daughter of mine is going to stay here alone with a boy twice."

Mrs. Weasley than stood up and walked out of the door, leaving two very confused teenagers. Harry looked at Ginny and said, "We're still alive at least."

She managed to smile, but it was a sad one. "I didn't like standing up to her like that."

"I don't blame you," Harry answered sympathetically. "Come on let's go to bed."

They climbed the stairs to the main bedroom and they collapsed on the bed. Ginny laid her head on his chest and they quickly fell into a deep sleep. They didn't even wake up when Ron came bursting into the room.

"What-" Ron was cut off by a hand covering his mouth.

"Look at them Ron, they're exhausted. Just wait until tomorrow," Hermione whispered into his ear.

"Fine, but I don't like it."

They walked quietly out of the room and shut the door behind them, leaving the two of them sleeping soundly.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Ay-oh, sorry for the really long wait, but it got to the point where I just didn't want to right this anymore, but after talking to my older brother who is an aspiring writer, I wanted to finish this. So, after all this time I give you the last chapter (it isn't what I had origanally wanted, but I couldn't remember how I wanted to end it.) Hope you enjoy it.

Harry awoke with a start as the door was thrown open

Harry awoke with a start as the door was thrown open. "Just let them sleep," Hermione pleaded.

"I let them sleep all bloomin' night; they can handle getting up at six!" Ron yelled. He walked to the bed and grabbed Harry by the collar. "What in the hell do you think you're doing with my little sister?!"

Harry stared at him blankly for a moment, and was about to say something when a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Ron suddenly flew across the room and was pinned to the wall.

"What-" Ron started.

Ginny was standing next to the bed a scowl on her face and her wand in her hand. "Don't you dare touch Harry!" she shouted.

"Ginny, let him go, he has a fairly decent excuse for it," Harry reasoned.

"Of course I've got a good excuse for it, you were sleeping with my little sister!"

"Ron, shut up," the fiery red head stated. She lowered her wand and Ron dropped to the floor.

"Look, Ron, we didn't do anything, to be honest we were too tired _to_ do anything." Harry defended, his hands raised.

"That's no excuse!" Ron yelled.

"No, it's not, but Ron you have to trust me, I won't let anything happen."

Ginny looked at Harry, surprised. "What?"

Harry returned Ginny's gaze, "Well, not yet anyway."

Ron started to walk toward Harry when Hermione stepped in front of him. "Ron, think about it, how is it any different than you and I?" she whispered.

Ron's look softened. "Fine, but I still don't like it."

"You don't have to," Hermione replied.

The four of them stood as an awkward silence fell over them. "So…who's hungry?" Harry asked breaking the quiet.

"I'm always hungry," Ron said, slipping back to his normal self.

They all went to the kitchen and had Kreacher make them a large breakfast. "So, Harry what is it that you are working on?" Hermione questioned.

"Well, I thought that I would make a Memorial for all those who lost their lives to Voldemort and the Death Eaters. It's going to take a few weeks though. There's a lot of information we have to dig through."

"Ron and I can help, that should speed things up a little," Hermione offered.

"I won't turn it down," Harry said with a smile.

It had been three weeks since Hermione and Ron had decided to help Harry. It had been another long day at the Ministry, but they had finally finished. They were all in a good mood.

"Now all we need is to find a place to put the Memorial," Harry said, triumphantly.

"I figured you were just going to put it in the Ministry's courtyard," Ron replied.

"Yeah, that would be a good place, you could put it up as a wall around the courtyard," Ginny put in.

"How long do you think it would take to get it up?" Harry asked.

"Not long at all once we get permission from the Ministry," Hermione piped up. "And Mr. Weasley will be able to get permission really quickly."

They all agreed, and set off to Arthur Weasley's office. Ron led the way seeing as he had been there more than any of them. When they reached the door, they knocked and entered.

Arthur was sitting at his desk, writing, he looked up as they came in. "Hey kids, what can I do for you?"

"We were wondering if you could get us permission to put up a Memorial in the Ministry's courtyard," Ginny answered.

"I'm sure I could arrange for it."

"That's great," Harry said, triumphantly. "Do you think we could start tonight?"

"Well, let me go talk to the Minister." Arthur rose out of his chair and walked out of the office.

He returned about half an hour later, with a smile on his face. "All I had to do was say that Harry Potter wanted to do it and they agreed without any questions. They said you could start as soon as you want to."

"We'll start right away, then," Harry replied. "Do you think they could get us some slabs of marble?"

"I'm sure they could, let me call somebody," Arthur sat at his desk and talked on his phone for a few minutes. When he hung up the phone he looked up at Harry, "The slabs will be in the courtyard when you get down there."

"Alright, let's go." Harry led them out of the office and they went down to the courtyard. It was almost deserted because of the late hour, most of the people had returned home for the day. Harry handed all of his friends a piece of parchment.

"We'll each take a slab and a parchment. Try to make the names big enough to read them from a few feet."

They all set to work and started carving the names and dates into the slabs of marble. As the people still working were leaving the Ministry they were drawn to what was going on. Many volunteered to help. By the end of the night they had all finished their work. They hung the slabs around the courtyard, making a wall. When they had placed the last slab in place, the crowd of workers cheered. Many made their way over to portions of the wall and touched the names of lost loved ones.

Harry saw the reactions of the people and he smiled. He looked at Ginny standing next to him and he pulled her into a deep kiss. "Now we can be together forever. Nothing can stop that."


End file.
